Japanese boy abandoned in bear-infested woods 'as punishment' is reunited with parents

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It’s the textbook perfect survival story. A seven-year-old Japanese schoolboy, dressed only in T-shirt and jeans, with no food or water, finds himself alone in dense forested mountains populated by bears.

And so he walks for a few miles before stumbling across an empty military hut with an unlocked door, where he seeks refuge from heavy rainfall, drinks water from an outdoor tap and sleeps on a mattress on the floor – until he is discovered nearly a week later by a passing soldier.

Seven-year-old Yamato Tanooka was found in a hut after going missing for six daysCredit:
Getty Images

On Friday, Japan was celebrating the safe discovery of Yamato Tanooka, which brought an intense six-day search that was increasingly baffling rescue teams to an unexpectedly happy ending.

It was last Saturday afternoon that his father Takayuki Tanooka first raised the alarm, initially claiming to police that he had become separated from his son while the family were foraging for wild vegetables in northern Hokkaido.

A few hours later, however, the truth emerged: his father had made Yamato get out of the family car and driven about half a mile away – before returning to the same spot only minutes later but was then unable to find him.

Mr Tanooka later described how his actions - for which he has regretfully and repeatedly apologised over the past week - were aimed at disciplining his son who had been misbehaving by throwing stones at cars and people.

His disappearance not only sparked a major six-day search operation, involving hundreds of police, military and volunteers combing the area, but also triggered intense debate surrounding the father’s parenting skills.

While the parents are not officially under investigation for their actions, police are reportedly exploring whether they should be charged with negligence.

The incident has put Japan’s parenting culture firmly under the spotlight, with a string of high-profile social critics and educationists speaking out against the parents’ conduct.

Among them was Naoki Ogi, the prominent education expert, who wrote on his influential blog earlier this week:“The parents who put him in this situation must be harshly condemned. Surely, they will be arrested soon.”

Others, however, were quick to sympathise with the parents, highlighting the frustrations of child-rearing and the occasional need for tough love parenting methods.

A member of the Self-Defense Force shows the mattress which Yamato was using inside a building in a military drill area in Shikabe townCredit:
Kyodo News

"Should we call all forms of strict disciplining abuse?" said one tweet. “If you were his parents, would you never keep a distance from your child or even abandon them? This case could be a chance to think about how we engage with children.”

It was shortly before 8am on Friday morning that the boy was found alive and well in the single-story hut at a Self-Defence Forces training facility in Shikabe town, less than three miles from where he was left by his father.

The soldier who found Yamato by chance has described how he asked the boy to confirm his identity, before he said he was hungry and thirsty – and proceeded to ravenously eat two rice balls and bread.

Describing the moment they came face to face, the soldier said: “He didn’t look scared. He seemed relieved.”

Yamato was airlifted to hospital in Hakodate city, where he was treated for only mild dehydration, low body temperature and a few minor cuts, before being reunited with his family shortly after.

Rescuers search the missing boy before the bears can get to himCredit:
Kyodo News via AP

The boy, who was kept in hospital overnight for observation, was described by one doctor who treated him as “incredibly calm” despite his ordeal, telling media: “He didn’t panic at all.”

His father Mr Tanooka bowed deeply in apology before the media, as he described how his reunion with his son.

“The first thing I did was apologise to him for causing such an awful memory for him,” he said. “The first thing I said to him was that I was really sorry. He nodded and said OK, like he understood.”

He added: “My excessive act forced my son to have a painful time. I deeply apologise to people at his school, people in the rescue operation, and everybody for causing them trouble […].

“We - well, we loved him before, but I hope to give him even more attention now.”

Testimony to the level of the nation’s interest in the case was the fact that it was the top trended item on Twitter in Japan, with those tweeting including Ken Noguchi, a renowned alpinist who has climbed Mount Everest, who posted: “If he survived by himself, it’s an unbelievable miracle.”